Hierarchical multi-bank multi-port memory organization

ABSTRACT

A memory system includes multiple (N) memory banks and multiple (M) ports, wherein N is greater than or equal to M. Each of the memory banks is coupled to each of the ports. Access requests are transmitted simultaneously on each of the ports. However, each of the simultaneous access requests specifies a different memory bank. Each memory bank monitors the access requests on the ports, and determines whether any of the access requests specify the memory bank. Upon determining that an access request specifies the memory bank, the memory bank performs an access to an array of single-port memory cells. Simultaneous accesses are performed in multiple memory banks, providing a bandwidth equal to the bandwidth of one memory bank times the number of ports. An additional level of hierarchy may be provided, which allows further multiplication of the number of simultaneously accessed ports, with minimal area overhead.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the addition of multiple ports to ahierarchical multi-bank structure to multiply the available cyclicrandom bandwidth.

RELATED ART

Prior art has introduced the concept of multiple ports in static randomaccess memory (SRAM) technology to increase the available randombandwidth of a memory system. Multiple ports increase the availabletransaction generation frequency by the number of ports. However, thereis enormous area overhead due to the required use of a multi-port SRAMbit cell.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional multi-port SRAM 100, whichincludes memory cell array 101 and three separate access ports 111-113.Memory cell array 101 is made of a plurality of 3-port SRAM cells. Themulti-port nature of the SRAM cells in array 101 allows simultaneousaccesses to be performed on each of the three access ports 111-113. Forexample, a first read access can be performed on access port 111, asecond read access can be simultaneously performed on access port 112,and a write access can be simultaneously performed on access port 113.The 3-port SRAM cells of array 101 are much larger than a conventionalsingle port SRAM cell. The large size of the 3-port SRAM cells restrictsthe usage of multi-port SRAM 100 to small memory instances (typicallyembedded memory). It would therefore be desirable to have an improvedmulti-port memory system.

SUMMARY

The present invention introduces a memory system that includes aplurality of memory banks, each having multiple ports. Each of thememory banks includes a corresponding memory array, which is single portin nature. That is, the individual memory arrays are made of single-portmemory cells. These single-port memory cells can be, for example,dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells, embedded DRAM (EDRAM) cells,or flash memory cells.

Simultaneous accesses may be performed on all of the multiple ports atthe top (chip) level. However, none of these simultaneous accesses mayaddress the same individual memory bank. Each of the individual memorybanks may be accessed from any one of the multiple ports. However, eachof the individual memory banks is only accessed from (at most) one ofthe multiple ports during any given access cycle. In one embodiment, amultiplexer structure within each memory bank couples the correspondingmemory array to each of the multiple ports.

In one embodiment, the multi-bank multi-port memory system can beexpanded to include an additional level of hierarchy (i.e., partitions),which allows further multiplication of the number of simultaneouslyaccessed ports, with minimal area overhead. All ports at the partitionlevel may be simultaneously accessed. In this embodiment, the number ofconcurrent accesses per cycle equals the number of partitions times thenumber of ports. For example, in a memory system having three ports andfour partitions, the cyclic random bandwidth is multiplied by 12, whilethe area overhead is increased by less than five percent, compared to asingle port memory structure.

The present invention will be more fully understood in view of thefollowing description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional three-port memory system,which includes an array of three-port memory cells.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a multi-port multi-bank memory system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a memory bank of the multi-portmulti-bank memory system of FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a memory system that includes four memorypartitions, in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a multi-port multi-bank memory system 200in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Memorysystem 200 includes four memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃ and three access portsP1-P3. Although memory system 200 includes four memory banks and threeaccess ports, it is understood that memory system 200 can include othernumbers of memory banks and other numbers of ports, as long as thenumber of memory banks is greater than or equal to the number of ports.

In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 2, ports P1 and P2 are read ports,and port P3 is a write port. The first read port P1 includes a firstread address bus RA_01 and a first read data bus RD_01. The second readport P2 includes a second read address bus RA_02 and a second read databus RD_02. The write port P3 includes a write address bus WA_0 and awrite data bus WD_0.

Each of the memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃ is coupled to each of the three portsP1-P3. More specifically, each memory bank B_(XX) includes a first readport P1 _(XX) (which is coupled to port P1), a second read port P2 _(XX)(which is coupled to port P2) and a write port P3 _(XX) (which iscoupled to port P3), wherein XX=00, 01, 02 and 03.

The first read address bus RA_01 provides read addresses to the firstread ports P1 ₀₀, P1 ₀₁, P1 ₀₂ and P1 ₀₃, through bus connectionslabeled A1. The first read data bus RD_01 receives read data values fromthe first read ports P1 ₀₀, P1 ₀₁, P1 ₀₂ and P1 ₀₃, through busconnections labeled R1.

The second read address bus RA_02 provides read addresses to the secondread ports P2 ₀₀, P2 ₀₁, P2 ₀₂ and P2 ₀₃, through bus connectionslabeled A2. The second read data bus RD_01 receives read data valuesfrom the second read ports P2 ₀₀, P2 ₀₁, P2 ₀₂ and P2 ₀₃, through busconnections labeled R2.

The write address bus WA_0 provides write addresses to the write portsP3 ₀₀, P3 ₀₁, P3 ₀₂ and P3 ₀₃, through bus connections labeled WA. Thewrite data bus WD_0 provides write data values to write ports P3 ₀₀, P3₀₁, P3 ₀₂ and P3 ₀₃, through bus connections labeled WD.

An external device (or devices) may initiate accesses to memory system200 in the following manner. Accesses may be simultaneously initiated onports P1, P2 and/or P3, as long as none of these simultaneous accessesspecify the same memory bank. For example, a read access on port P1 mayaccess memory bank B₀₀ at the same time that a read access on port P2accesses memory bank B₀₂, and a write access on port P3 accesses memorybank B₀₃. Because each of the memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃ is accessed by, atmost, one of the ports P1-P3 at any given time, the memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃can be implemented using single-port memory cells. The internalstructure of memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃ is described in more detail below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating memory bank B₀₀ in more detail,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Memory banksB₀₁, B₀₂ and B₀₃ are identical to memory bank B₀₀ in the describedembodiments. Memory bank B₀₀ includes multiplexer 201, de-multiplexer202, access control logic 205, and memory array M₀₀. Memory array M₀₀includes an array of single-port memory cells. These single-port memorycells can be, for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells,static random access memory (SRAM) cells, embedded DRAM (EDRAM) cells,or flash memory cells. Multiplexer 201 and access control logic 205 arecoupled to receive the read address on the first read address bus RA_01(via bus connections A1), the read address on the second read addressbus RA_02 (via bus connections A2), and the write address on the writeaddress bus WA_0 (via bus connections WA). Each of these receivedaddresses includes a bank address (which specifies one of the memorybanks B₀₀-B₀₃) and a local address (which specifies a row/columnlocation within the memory array of the memory bank). Access controllogic 205 determines whether one of the received read addresses or thereceived write address includes a bank address that specifies the memorybank B₀₀. In one embodiment, memory bank B₀₀ is assigned a uniqueaddress, and access control logic 205 compares the bank addressesreceived on buses RA_01, RA_02 and WA_0 with this unique address todetermine whether memory bank B₀₀ is specified for an access. During anygiven access cycle, only one (or none) of the buses RA_01, RA_02 andWA_0 will carry a bank address that specifies memory bank B₀₀.

If access control logic 205 determines that one of the buses RA_01,RA_02 and WA_0 carries a bank address that specifies memory bank B₀₀,then access control logic 205 will cause multiplexer 201 to route theassociated local (row/column) address to memory array M₀₀, as the arrayaddress signal ADR₀₀. For example, if access control logic 205 detectsthat the bank address on read address bus RA_01 specifies memory bankB₀₀, then access control logic 205 will cause multiplexer 201 to routethe local (row/column) address from read address bus RA_01 tosingle-port memory array M₀₀.

Access control logic 205 also generates a read/write access controlsignal (R/W) in response to the received addresses. If access controllogic 205 determines that a matching bank address is received on one ofthe read address buses RA_01 or RA_02, then access control logic 205generates a R/W access control signal that specifies a read operation.If access control logic 205 determines that a matching bank address wasreceived on the write address bus WA_0, then access control logic 205generates a R/W access control signal that specifies a write operation.If access control logic 205 determines that no matching bank address wasreceived on address buses RA_01, RA_02 or WA_0, then access controllogic 205 generates a R/W access control signal that specifies an idlecycle (no operation).

If the R/W control signal indicates that a matching bank address wasreceived on one of the read address buses RA_01 or RA_02, then memoryarray M₀₀ performs a read operation to the address location specified bythe array address ADR₀₀. The resulting read data value DOUT₀₀ isprovided from memory array M₀₀ to de-multiplexer 202. Access controllogic 205 causes de-multiplexer 202 to route the read data value DOUT₀₀to the read data bus associated with the read access. For example, ifthe matching bank address was received on the first read address busRA_01 (i.e., port P1), then de-multiplexer 202 routes the read datavalue DOUT₀₀ to the first read data bus RD_01 (i.e., port P1).Conversely, if the matching bank address was received on the second readaddress bus RA_02 (i.e., port P2), then de-multiplexer 202 routes theread data value DOUT₀₀ to the second read data bus RD_02 (i.e., portP2).

If the R/W control signal indicates that a matching bank address wasreceived on the write address bus WA_0, then memory array M₀₀ performs awrite operation, whereby the write data value on write data bus WD_0(i.e., DIN₀₀) is written to the address location specified by the arrayaddress ADR₀₀.

Assuming that each of the memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃ operates at a frequencyF, then memory system 200 may operate at a maximum frequency of 3×F.That is, two read operations may be simultaneously performed atfrequency F on ports P1 and P2, while one write operation issimultaneously performed at frequency F on port P3.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a memory system 400 that includes fourmemory partitions MP₀-MP₃, in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention. In the described embodiment, memory partition MP₀ isidentical to memory system 200 (FIGS. 2-3). Thus, memory partition MP₀includes memory banks B₀₀-B₀₃ and ports P1-P3, as described above.Memory partitions MP₁-MP₃ are identical to memory partition MP_(o).Memory partitions MP₁, MP₂ and MP₃ include memory banks B₁₀-B₁₃, B₂₀-B₂₃and B₃₀-B₃₃, respectively, and ports P4-P6, P7-P9 and P10-P12,respectively. Memory banks B₁₀-B₁₃, B₂₀-B₂₃ and B₃₀-B₃₃ are identical tomemory banks B₀₀-B₀₃. Ports P4-P5, P7-P8 and P10-P11 are read ports,similar to read ports P1-P2. Ports P6, P9 and P12 are write ports,similar to write port P3.

Up to eight read operations and four write operations may be performedsimultaneously within memory system 400. More specifically, eight readoperations may be initiated by providing read addresses on the readaddress buses RA_01, RA_02, RA_11, RA_12, RA_21, RA_22, RA_31 and RA_32of ports P1, P2, P4, P5, P7, P8, P10 and P11, respectively. Each ofthese read operations must specify different memory banks within thecorresponding memory partitions. In response, eight read data values areprovided on read data buses RD_01, RD_02, RD_11, RD_12, RD_21, RD_22,RD_31 and RD_32 of ports P1, P2, P4, P5, P7, P8, P10 and P11,respectively.

Similarly, four write operations may be initiated by providing writeaddresses on the write address buses WA_0, WA_1, WA_2 and WA_3 of portsP3, P6, P9 and P12, respectively, and providing write data values on thewrite data buses WD_0, WD_1, WD_2 and WD_3 of ports P3, P6, P9 and P12,respectively.

The use of memory partitions MP₀-MP₃ in memory system 400 adds anadditional level of hierarchy to the structure of memory system 200,thereby allowing for multiplication of the number of simultaneouslyaccessible ports, with minimal area overhead. The additional areaoverhead associated with memory system 400 is less than 5 percent, whencompared with a conventional single-ported memory structure having thesame capacity.

The maximum operating frequency of memory system 400 is equal to theoperating frequency of the memory banks times the number of ports permemory partition, times the number of memory partitions. Assuming thateach of the memory banks of memory system 400 operates at a frequency F,then memory system 400 may operate at a maximum frequency of 3×4×F. Thatis, eight read operations may be simultaneously performed at frequency Fon ports P1, P2, P4, P5, P7, P8, P10 and P11, while four writeoperations are simultaneously performed at frequency F on ports P3, P6,P9 and P12.

Although memory system 400 includes four memory partitions, with threeports per memory partition, it is understood that memory system 400 caninclude other numbers of memory partitions, having other numbers ofports per memory partition, in other embodiments.

Although the invention has been described in connection with severalembodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to theembodiments disclosed, but is capable of various modifications, whichwould be apparent to a person skilled in the art. Accordingly, thepresent invention is limited only by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: simultaneously transmitting aplurality of bank access addresses from each of a first plurality ofports to each of a first plurality of memory banks implemented withsingle-port memory cells, wherein each of the first plurality of portsis designated as either a read port or a write port; and during eachaccess cycle, within each memory bank of the first plurality of memorybanks: comparing a unique bank address assigned to the memory bank withthe bank access addresses provided from each of the first plurality ofports; initiating a read operation to the memory bank in response todetecting that the unique bank address assigned to the memory bankmatches a bank access address provided by a port of the first pluralityof ports designated as a read port; and initiating a write operation tothe memory bank in response to detecting that the unique bank addressassigned to the memory bank matches a bank access address provided by aport of the first plurality of ports designated as a write port.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of initiating a read operation tothe memory bank comprises causing an access control signal to have afirst value that specifies a read operation to the memory bank inresponse to detecting that the unique bank address assigned to thememory bank matches the bank access address provided by a port of thefirst plurality of ports designated as a read port.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the step of initiating a write operation to the memorybank comprises causing the access control signal to have a second valuethat specifies a write operation to the memory bank in response todetecting that the unique bank address assigned to the memory bankmatches the bank access address provided by a port of the firstplurality of ports designated as a write port.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: providing bank access addresses from each of asecond plurality of ports to each of a second plurality of memory banksimplemented with single port memory cells, wherein each of the secondplurality of ports is designated as either a read port or a write port;and during each access cycle, within each memory bank of the secondplurality of memory banks: comparing a unique bank address assigned tothe memory bank with the bank access addresses provided from each of thesecond plurality of ports; initiating a read operation to the memorybank in response to detecting that the unique bank address assigned tothe memory bank matches a bank access address provided by a port of thesecond plurality of ports designated as a read port; and initiating awrite operation to the memory bank in response to detecting that theunique bank address assigned to the memory bank matches a bank accessaddress provided by a port of the second plurality of ports designatedas a write port.
 5. A memory system comprising: one or more memorypartitions, each including: a first plurality of ports, each designatedas either a read port or a write port, wherein each of the firstplurality of ports includes a corresponding address bus that carries abank address; and a first plurality of memory banks, each assigned acorresponding unique bank address, and each comprising a correspondingarray of single port memory cells and a corresponding access controlcircuit, wherein each access control circuit is coupled to each of thefirst plurality of ports, and wherein each access control circuitcompares the corresponding unique bank address with the bank addressesprovided on the address buses of the first plurality of ports, and inresponse, initiates a read operation if the unique bank address matchesa bank address provided by a read port, and initiates a write operationif the unique bank address matches a bank address provided by a writeport.
 6. The memory system of claim 5, wherein there are M memorypartitions and N ports in each of the memory partitions, wherein each ofthe memory banks operates at a frequency F, and wherein operations inthe memory system are performed at a frequency of M×N×F.
 7. The memorysystem of claim 5, wherein each of the first plurality of ports furtherincludes a corresponding data bus, separate from the correspondingaddress bus.